A partnership is an agreement between two or more individuals to share profits from a business they co-own. Key characteristics of a partnership include a written or oral agreement between partners, at least two co-owners who share profits and losses, unlimited liability for each partner, and a business purpose or profit motive. There are generally partnerships types including general partnerships where all partners share equally in management and liability, limited partnerships where some partners have limited liability and control, and limited liability partnerships where all partners have limited liability. A partnership at will has no fixed expiration date specified in the agreement.

1. Partnership: Characteristics,
Partnership at will
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2. What is Partnership?
A partnership is a kind of business where a formal agreement between two or
more people is made who agree to be the co-owners, distribute responsibilities
for running an organization and share the income or losses that the business
generates.
In India, all the aspects and functions of the partnership are administered under
‘The Indian Partnership Act 1932’. This specific law explains that partnership is an
association between two or more individuals or parties who have accepted to
share the profits generated from the business under the supervision of all the
members or behalf of other members.

3. Features of Partnership:
Following are the few features of a partnership:
Agreement between Partners: It is an association of two or more individuals, and
a partnership arises from an agreement or a contract. The agreement (accord)
becomes the basis of the association between the partners. Such an agreement is
in the written form. An oral agreement is evenhandedly legitimate. In order to
avoid controversies, it is always good, if the partners have a copy of the written
agreement.
2. Two or More Persons: In order to manifest a partnership, there should be at
least two (2) persons possessing a common goal. To put it in other words, the
minimal number of partners in an enterprise can be two (2). However, there is a
constraint on their maximum number of people.

4. 3. Sharing of Profit: Another significant component of the partnership is,
the accord between partners has to share gains and losses of a trading
concern. However, the definition held in the Partnership Act elucidates –
partnership as an association between people who have consented to share
the gains of a business, the sharing of loss is implicit. Hence, sharing of
gains and losses is vital.
4.Business Motive: It is important for a firm to carry some kind of business
and should have a profit gaining motive.
5. Mutual Business: The partners are the owners as well as the agent of
their firm. Any act performed by one partner can affect other partners and
the firm. It can be concluded that this point acts as a test of partnership for
all the partners.
6. Unlimited Liability: Every partner in a partnership has unlimited liability.

5. Types of Partnerships
A partnership is divided into different types depending on the state and
where the business operates. Here are some general aspects of the three
most common types of partnerships.
General Partnership
A general partnership comprises two or more owners to run a business. In
this partnership, each partner represents the firm with equal right. All
partners can participate in management activities, decision making, and
have the right to control the business. Similarly, profits, debts, and liabilities
are equally shared and divided equally.
In other words, the general partnership definition can be stated as those
partnerships where rights and responsibilities are shared equally in terms of
management and decision making. Each partner should take full
responsibility for the debts and liability incurred by the other partner. If one
partner is sued, all the other partners are considered accountable. The
creditor or court will hold the partner’s personal assets. Therefore, most of
the partners do not opt for this partnership.

6. Limited Partnership
In this partnership, includes both the general and limited partners. The
general partner has unlimited liability, manages the business and the
other limited partners. Limited partners have limited control over the
business (limited to his investment). They are not associated with the
everyday operations of the firm.
In most of the cases, the limited partners only invest and take a profit
share. They do not have any interest in participating in management or
decision making. This non-involvement means they do not have the
right to compensate the partnership losses from their income tax return.

7. Limited Liability Partnership
In Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), all the partners have limited liability. Each
partner is guarded against other partners legal and financial mistakes. A limited
liability partnership is almost similar to a Limited Liability Company (LLC) but
different from a limited partnership or a general partnership.
Partnership at Will
Partnership at Will can be defined as when there is no clause mentioned about
the expiration of a partnership firm. Under section 7 of the Indian Partnership
Act 1932, the two conditions that have to be fulfilled by a firm to become a
Partnership at Will are:
The partnership agreement should have not any fixed expiration date.
No particular determination of the partnership should be mentioned.
Therefore, if the duration and determination are mentioned in the agreement,
then it is not a partnership at will. Also, initially, if the firm had a fixed expiration
date, but the operation of the firm continues beyond the mentioned date that
it will be considered as a partnership at will.